Concert Series: Salin

City: Portland, OR / Venue: Jack London Revue

Writing and photography by Trent "Pax" Lowder

Rhythm and sound are vessels for connection in Salin’s arena, and in anticipation of the upcoming album, Rammana, the Thai-born, Juno nominated drummer-producer made her inaugural US tour in the early, chilly months of 2025. In mid-February, she stopped in Portland, OR to let fans (familiar or not) in on what her newest offering would traverse.

Drummer-producer Salin plays gleefully at her drum set (Photo: Trent Lowder)

Skewing ever so slightly outside the periphery of even the more seasoned and adventurous music-lovers, Salin’s band layers deeper beyond the plain lines of jazz and funk. The sonic exploration embedded in each track scratches a brain’s itch to ponder: “It’s not entirely this … there’s aspects of that, and a smidge of the other … so, really, what is this?” Thankfully, Salin communicates these nuances in more ways than one throughout her set.

Rammana is an album written while travelling through sectors of Thailand where language barriers were present, navigating interactions with music as a transcendent form of communication. It was an added treat when, between tracks, Salin would describe an instrument or sound she used that was distinct; telling of her palpable passion for indigenous instrumentation.

Multi-exposure still of Salin performing along saxophone, trumpet, bass players (Photo: Trent Lowder)

Salin and her more than capable band produced commanding rhythms throughout the night, with equal parts calculated intensity and bountiful aperture. Her drums kept consistent and nuanced pace for other band members to occasionally break into more complex sections. Solos were playful and bumped elbows: guitar flirting with sax, bass whispering among keys. Tracks that may have been only 4 minutes traversed enough ground to feel far more expansive. Some songs were softer and more ethereal at their core like a calm spring in a deep jungle, and on the flipside always lied a thumping, Afrobeat-ish number waiting in the wings with a burning energy, driving the group as a unit.

Salin placed an undeniable groove into everything she touched. Be it the smooth, deep-pocketed breakdowns that hearkened to 70’s funk on “PUAJ”, or an almost 2000’s pop stop-and-go breathiness on “Si Chomphu” that may ring bells of Aaliyah’s heyday. Her pieces were always distinct, precise, and triumphant, and she regularly played up a more grandiose cymbal-laden, sweeping sound, that kept with the established trend of continual contrast.

Thai-born, Juno nominated drummer Salin performs songs from upcoming Rammana album (Photo: Trent Lowder)

Rather than pull away when a track’s motif was established, the band would build further upon their ideas and build into meaningful climaxes where waves of musical conversation emanate from on-stage. Indicative of a group of musicians fluent in the language of one another, each instrument fell in behind the cues of Salin at the podium, drumsticks a blur.

Although ingredients in Salin’s compositions have existed for centuries, her performance was a fresh, beautiful experience and a groove-filled evening of jazz-funk. Rammana will undoubtedly be an effortless listen, as at the core of every track is a gorgeously simple concept: rhythm, sound, and thus music, are critical vessels for connection, and one’s roots are intrinsically tied to that foundation. If someone wants to connect with Salin and her history, just listen to her music. It’s a fascinating and spectacular opportunity.